2007 - Ready-Set-Go

12th Night has come and gone and the race has started. It was a wonderful celebration and many old friends came from all over the country. It was the last celebration in Little Rock as we move on to other adventures. That gave everything a touch of sadness. The headline in the full page coverage in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette said "Twelfth Night Revelers Say Goodnight to Annual Ball." Of course, I would not have chosen the word "revelers" for obvious reasons, although it is a typically used 15th Century word. Many of our friends are gathering in North Carolina this Summer but as we plan to head to England for the Fall Semester, I'm afraid we are going to miss it. As the paper mentioned, out kilts and tartan will be packed away for awhile.

Another exciting event has been Ian's participation in the local community theatre production of The Wizard of Oz. He has had such a good time. He wanted to be a flying monkey, but they asked him to be a munchkin. I told him he would always be a flying monkey to me. We'll see what he says after he thinks about it awhile. He has done a good job. It does amaze me that a child that will entertain everyone at the drop of a hat will get "stagefright" when he is supposed to be entertaining. It is indeed a "puzzlement." He has asked to participate in Kidstage again this Spring so he may have "caught the bug." Both of his Grandmothers were able to come see him which meant a lot to him. His favorite "Aunts" were also in attendance.

Everyone needs to keep Beckie in your prayers. For those of you who don't know her, she has taken over the Directorship of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program as we move toward a Master's degree. I am so glad that she was able to do that as I needed to slow down a little. She has an enormous amount of work to do and I will keep her in my prayers. I'll also help in any way I can (hear that Beckie?".

And we begin again!

What a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration. It was a great time to be with many friends and family. It was very busy for us but that is what we expect of the holidays. We spent Christmas Eve with Keri's family and celebrated Christmas Jamaican style. The spicy food and reggae music was an excellent way to visit and enjoy each others company. This was the first Christmas without Keri's Dad and he was definitely missed but a good time was had by all.

Ian was thrilled with his Santa gifts Christmas morning. He seems to still believe in Santa Clause and was happy with everything. It is wonderful to see Christmas through the eyes of a child. He is a very smart child, so I think he will continue to "believe" and his parents will continue to be glad. My mother came down on Christmas day and we enjoyed her visit.

On the 26th (Boxing Day for some of you) Keri, Ian, my Mom and I headed for Tallahassee, FL to spend some time with my brother. It was a long drive (14 hours) but we made it fine and spent some time together with my family. They have moved into a beautiful new house in a neighborhood filled with huge live oak trees. Keri and I fell in love with a craftsman home next door. It was for sale and they were only asking $750,000 for it, so I think we will buy it for a get-away. We really did like the house and that architectural style.

We are back and Ian has gone back to school. Beckie has returned and I am really enjoying having her back at work. We are moving full-steam ahead with the Harding University Communication Sciences and Disorders graduate program, and I am thrilled that Beckie is going to lead us into that. We meet next week to begin planning curriculum.

Christmas is never completely over for us until after 12th Night. We are meeting with friends this weekend for the 25th (and last) Annual Arkansas 12th Night Celebration. Many of us are getting too old to get it all together so we are calling it quits. We have people coming in from about 15-20 States and they are already arriving. I have served as Master of Ceremonies for many years and am always glad to see everyone. A band is coming in from Boston and a special Scottish Country Dance and music have been written for the event. I'm hoping we may do it from time to time in the future, just not every year. It is sad though and I hope we can make it through the Auld Lang Syne at the end without breaking down. I'll tell you how it went next week.

Ian is also in dress rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz. He is one of the Munchkins (and I'm sure the best). Keri made him a costume and I will post a picture of that next week.

Happy New Year to you all. I love hearing from you, whether you post notes here or email me directly. I'm going to go into withdrawal now that Beckie is back and no longer posting Italian news.